Secondary cell state indication method and communication device

ABSTRACT

An SCell state indication method and a communication device are provided. The SCell state indication method includes: configuring state transition indication information, the state transition indication information being used to indicate an SCell state transition between two of an activated state, a deactivated state and a third state; and transmitting the state transition indication information to a UE.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims a priority of the Chinese patentapplication No. 201810008827.5 filed in China on Jan. 4, 2018, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the field of communication technology,in particular to a Secondary Cell (SCell) state indication method and acommunication device.

BACKGROUND

Carrier aggregation technology has been introduced into a Long TermEvolution (LTE) system. In the carrier aggregation technology, one UserEquipment (UE) may be in communication with a network via a plurality ofserving cells. One of the serving cells is a Primary Cell (PCell), andthe others are SCells. Each SCell is in an activated state or adeactivated state, and the PCell is always maintained in an activatedstate.

Usually, an SCell activation/deactivation mechanism is achieved on thebasis of an activation/deactivation Media Access Control (MAC) ControlElement (CE) or a deactivation timer. In the SCellactivation/deactivation mechanism, there is a relatively large delay forthe transition between the activated state and the deactivated state. Inorder to reduce the delay, a new fast SCell activated state (SCell newstate for short) has been introduced into the LTE system. A personskilled in the art understands that, this state may also be called as athird state, a new state or any other known term in the art, i.e., thename of this state shall not be used to limit the state. In one case,the third state may be understood as a state between the activated stateand the deactivated state. Briefly, in the third state, Channel Qualityindication (CQI) is allowed to be reported periodically on the basis ofa Cell Reference Signal (CRS), and a Physical Downlink Control Channel(PDCCH) is not monitored.

However, there is no scheme for controlling the transition among thethree states of the SCell through the MAC CE. In this regard, after theintroduction of the third state, such a problem as insufficientcompatibility may occur for a communication system.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, the present disclosure provides in some embodiments anSCell state indication method for a network side device, including:configuring state transition indication information, the statetransition indication information being used to indicate an SCell statetransition between two of an activated state, a deactivated state and athird state; and transmitting the state transition indicationinformation to a User Equipment (UE).

In another aspect, the present disclosure provides in some embodimentsan SCell state indication method for a UE, including: receiving a statetransition indication information transmitted by a network side device,the state transition indication information being used to indicate anSCell state transition between two of an activated state, a deactivatedstate and a third state; and transiting the state of the SCell inaccordance with the state transition indication information.

In yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides in someembodiments a network side device, including: a configuration moduleused to configure state transition indication information, the statetransition indication information being used to indicate an SCell statetransition between two of an activated state, a deactivated state and athird state; and a transmission module used to transmit the statetransition indication information to a UE.

In still yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides in someembodiments a UE, including: a reception module used to receive a statetransition indication information transmitted by a network side device,the state transition indication information being used to indicate anSCell state transition between two of an activated state, a deactivatedstate and a third state; and a transition module used to transit thestate of SCell in accordance with the state transition indicationinformation.

In still yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides in someembodiments a network side device, including a memory, a processor, anda computer program stored in the memory and executed by the processor.The processor is used to execute the computer program so as to implementthe above-mentioned SCell state indication method for the network sidedevice.

In still yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides in someembodiments a UE, including a memory, a processor, and a computerprogram stored in the memory and executed by the processor. Theprocessor is used to execute the computer program so as to implement theabove-mentioned SCell state indication method for the UE.

In still yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides in someembodiments a computer-readable storage medium storing therein acomputer program. The computer program is executed by a processor so asto implement the above-mentioned SCell state indication method for thenetwork side device.

In still yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides in someembodiments a computer-readable storage medium storing therein acomputer program. The computer program is executed by a processor so asto implement the above-mentioned SCell state indication method for theUE.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to illustrate the technical solutions of the present disclosurein a clearer manner, the drawings desired for the present disclosurewill be described hereinafter briefly. Obviously, the following drawingsmerely relate to some embodiments of the present disclosure, and basedon these drawings, a person skilled in the art may obtain the otherdrawings without any creative effort.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an SCell state indication systemaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of an SCell state indication method according toan embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing SCell states according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a format of an MAC CE according to anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is another schematic view showing the SCell states according toan embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are schematic views showing other formats of the MAC CEaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is yet another schematic view showing the SCell states accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is yet another schematic view showing the format of the MAC CEaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is still yet another schematic view showing the format of theMAC CE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is still yet another schematic view showing the format of theMAC CE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is still yet another schematic view showing the format of theMAC CE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a schematic view showing a network side device according toan embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a schematic view showing a UE according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 15 is another schematic view showing the network side deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 16 is a schematic view showing a hardware structure of the UEaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following, the present disclosure will be described hereinafterin a clear and complete manner in conjunction with the drawings andembodiments. Obviously, the following embodiments merely relate to apart of, rather than all of, the embodiments of the present disclosure,and based on these embodiments, a person skilled in the art may, withoutany creative effort, obtain the other embodiments, which also fallwithin the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an SCell state indication systemaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG.1, the SCell state indication system includes a UE 11 and a network sidedevice 12. The UE 11 may be a mobile communication terminal, e.g.,mobile phone, tablet personal computer, laptop computer, PersonalDigital Assistant (PDA), Mobile Internet Device (MID) or wearabledevice. It should be appreciated that, a specific type of the UE 11 willnot be particularly defined herein. The network side device 12 may be a5^(th)-Generation (5G) network side device (e.g., gNB, 5G New Radio (NR)Node B (NB)), a 4^(th)-Generation (4G) network side device (e.g.,evolved Node B (eNB)), or a 3^(rd)-Generation (3G) network side device(e.g., NB). It should be appreciated that, a specific type of thenetwork side device 12 will not be particularly defined herein.

As shown in FIG. 2, the present disclosure provides in some embodimentsan SCell state indication method, which includes: Step 201 ofconfiguring, by a network side device, state transition indicationinformation, the state transition indication information being used toindicate an SCell state transition between two of an activated state, adeactivated state and a third state; Step 202 of transmitting, by thenetwork side device, the state transition indication information to aUE; Step 203 of receiving, by the UE, the state transition indicationinformation transmitted by the network side device; and Step 204 oftransiting, by the UE, the state of the SCell in accordance with thestate transition indication information.

According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the network sidedevice may configure the state transition indication information, andthe UE may receive the state transition indication informationtransmitted by the network side device. In this way, the UE may transitthe state of the SCell in accordance with the state transitionindication information. The SCell may be transited between two states ofthe activated state, the deactivated state and the third state.

It should be appreciated that, in the embodiments of the presentdisclosure, when the SCell is transited between two of the activatedstate, the deactivated state and the third state, it may be transitedbetween the activated state and the third state in accordance with thestate transition indication information, or between the deactivatedstate and the third state in accordance with the state transitionindication information, or between two of the activated state, thedeactivated state and the third state in a predetermined transitionorder in accordance with the state transition indication information.

A specific format of the state transition indication information and acorrespondence between transited states may be agreed in a protocol, orconfigured by a higher layer, which will not be particularly definedherein.

It should be appreciated that, the third state of the SCell may be aSCell new state introduced into an LTE system. There is a relativelylarge delay when the SCell is transited from the deactivated state tothe activated state, so the SCell new state is introduced to reduce thedelay. In the LTE system, the new state is defined as new fast SCellactivated state, SCell new state for short. In one case, the SCell newstate may be a state between the activated state and the deactivatedstate. In the SCell new state, the following agreements have been made:no L1 signaling is to be introduced in the state transition; CQI isallowed to be reported periodically on the basis of a CRS; a PDCCH isnot monitored; and the transition between the SCell new state and theactivated state or between the SCell new state and the deactivated stateis controlled through an MAC CE.

In addition, in a future communication system, e.g., a 5G NR system, itshould be appreciated that, the third state may also be called as Newstate (N for short), or any other term known to a person skilled in theart, which will not be particularly defined herein.

According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the statetransition indication information may be configured so as to indicatethe SCell to be transited between two of the Activated state (A forshort), the Deactivated state (D for short) and the third state. Throughthe introduction of the third state, it is able to reduce the delaygenerated during the transition of the SCell between the activated stateand the deactivated state, thereby to improve the compatibility of thecommunication system.

For ease of understanding, the SCell state indication method will bedescribed hereinafter in more details in conjunction with variouspossible forms of the state indication information.

The state transition indication information configured by the networkside device may include an MAC CE of N bits, where N is a positiveinteger. The MAC CE may include M SCell sequence bits C_(i), where M isa positive integer, and i is an integer smaller than or equal to M,wherein i may be an integer smaller than or equal to M.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, a value of C_(i) may beused to indicate the state transition of the SCell corresponding toC_(i) between two of the activated state, the deactivated state and thethird state.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the MAC CE mayfurther include a reserved bit R. In this regard, a value of R and thevalue of C_(i) may be used to indicate the state transition of the SCellcorresponding to C_(i) between two of the activated state, thedeactivated state and the third state. When the value of R is a firstpredetermined value, the state of the SCell corresponding to C_(i)having a second predetermined value may be indicated to be transitedinto the third state; when the value of R is a third predeterminedvalue, the state of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) having a fourthpredetermined value may be indicated to be transited from the thirdstate into the activated state or the deactivated state; and when thevalue of R is a fifth predetermined value, the state of the SCellcorresponding to C_(i) having a sixth predetermined value may beindicated to be transited from a current state into a next state in thepredetermined transition order.

First assumption: when the value of the reserved bit R is 1, thecorresponding value of C_(i) is 1 and there is no legacy Logic ChannelIdentity (LCID) and legacy MAC CE simultaneously, a state of acorresponding SCell may be indicated to be transited into the thirdstate; when the value of the reserved bit R is 1, and the correspondingvalue of C_(i) is 0, a state of a corresponding SCell may be indicatedto be transited from the third state into the activated state or thedeactivated state.

The network side device may configure the legacy MAC CE to indicatewhether the state of the corresponding SCell is to be transited from thethird state into the activated state or into the deactivated state. Theindication of the activated state and the deactivated state through thelegacy MAC CE may be implemented in the related art, which will not beparticularly defined herein.

The first assumption will be illustratively described hereinafter on thebasis of an MAC CE having 8 carriers and 1 byte.

For example, FIG. 3 shows initial states of the SCells, and FIG. 4 showsan MAC CE format, the transited states of the SCells may be shown inFIG. 5 on the basis of the first assumption. When the MAC CE formats areshown in FIGS. 6 and 7 on the basis of the states of the SCells in FIG.5, the transited states of the SCells may be shown in FIG. 8 on thebasis of the first assumption.

Second assumption: when the value of the reserved bit R is 1 and thecorresponding value of C_(i) is 1, a state of a corresponding SCell maybe indicated to be transited from a current state into a next state inthe predetermined transition order; or when the value of the reservedbit R is 1 and the corresponding value of C_(i) is 0, a state of acorresponding SCell may be indicated to be transited from the currentstate into the next state in the predetermined transition order; and thelike.

The above schemes may be applied to the MAC CE format having 8 carriersand 1 byte, or an MAC CE format having 32 carriers and 4 bytes, whichwill not be particularly defined herein.

It should be appreciated that, the present disclosure shall not belimited to the above schemes, and instead, any other feasible schemesmay also be applicable.

The state transition indication information configured by the networkside device may include an MAC CE and a field L indicating a length ofthe MAC CE. The MAC CE may include at least two fields, and each fieldmay include N bits, where N is a positive integer. Each field of the MACCE may include M SCell sequence bits C_(i), where M is a positiveinteger, and i is an integer smaller than or equal to M.

In this embodiment, a value of C_(i) in each field may be used toindicate the state transition of the SCell corresponding to C_(i)between two of the activated state, the deactivated state and the thirdstate.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, each field of theMAC CE may further include a reserved bit R. In this regard, a value ofR and the value of C_(i) may be used to indicate the state transition ofthe SCell corresponding to C_(i) between two of the activated state, thedeactivated state and the third state. When the value of R in each fieldsatisfies a first predetermined condition and the value of C_(i) in eachfield satisfies a second predetermined condition, the state of the SCellcorresponding to C_(i) may be indicated to be transited into the thirdstate: when the value of R in each field satisfies a third predeterminedcondition and the value of C_(i) in each field satisfies a fourthpredetermined condition, the state of the SCell corresponding to C_(i)may be indicated to be transited from the third state into the activatedstate or the deactivated state; and when the value of R in each fieldsatisfies a fifth predetermined condition and the value of C_(i) in eachfield satisfies a sixth predetermined condition, the state of the SCellcorresponding to C_(i) may be indicated to be transited from a currentstate into a next state in the predetermined transition order.

Correspondingly, the transiting, by the UE, the state of the SCell inaccordance with the state transition indication information may include:when the value of R is a first predetermined value, transiting, by theUE, the state of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) having a secondpredetermined value into the third state; when the value of R is a thirdpredetermined value, transiting, by the UE, the state of the SCellcorresponding to C_(i) having a fourth predetermined value from thethird state into the activated state or the deactivated state; and whenthe value of R is a fifth predetermined value, transiting, by the UE,the state of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) having a sixthpredetermined value from the current state into a next state in apredetermined transition order.

For example, the MAC CE may include two fields L1 and L2, as shown inFIG. 9.

First assumption: when the values of the reserved bit R in L1 and L2 areeach 1, and the values of C_(i) at a same position in L1 and L2 are thesame, a state of a corresponding SCell may be indicated to be transitedinto the third state, and the states of the other SCells may remainunchanged; or when the values of the reserved bit R in L1 and L2 areeach 1, and the values of C_(i) at a same position in L1 and L2 aredifferent, a state of a corresponding SCell may be indicated to betransited into the third state, and the states of the other SCells mayremain unchanged.

When the values of the reserved bit R in L1 and L2 are 1 and 0respectively, or 0 and 1 respectively, or are each 0, and the values ofC_(i) at a same position in L1 and L2 are the same, a correspondingSCell may be indicated to leave the third state, and the states of theother SCells may remain unchanged; or when the values of the reservedbit R in L1 and L2 are 1 and 0 respectively, or 0 and 1 respectively, orare each 0, and the values of C_(i) at a same position in L1 and L2 aredifferent, a corresponding SCell may be indicated to leave the thirdstate, and the states of the other SCells may remain unchanged.

The network side device may configure a legacy MAC CE to indicatewhether the corresponding SCell is to leave the third state and betransited from the third state into the activated state or into thedeactivated state. The indication of the activated state and thedeactivated state through the legacy MAC CE may be implemented in therelated art, which will not be particularly defined herein.

Second assumption: when the values of the reserved bit R in L1 and L2are each 1, and the values of C_(i) at a same position in L1 and L2 arethe same, a corresponding SCell may be indicated to be transited fromthe current state into a next state in the predetermined transitionorder; or when the values of the reserved bit R in L1 and L2 are each 1,and the values of C_(i) at a same position in L1 and L2 are different, acorresponding SCell may be indicated to be transited from the currentstate into the next state in the predetermined transition order.

When the values of the reserved bit R in L1 and L2 are 1 and 0respectively, or 0 and 1 respectively, or are each 0, and the values ofC_(i) at a same position in L1 and L2 are the same, a correspondingSCell may be indicated to be transited from the current state into thenext state in the predetermined transition order; or when the values ofthe reserved bit R in L1 and L2 are 1 and 0 respectively, or 0 and 1respectively, or are each 0, and the values of C_(i) at a same positionin L1 and L2 are different, a corresponding SCell may be indicated to betransited from the current state into the next state in thepredetermined transition order.

The above schemes may be applied to the MAC CE format having 8 carriersand 1 byte, or an MAC CE format having 32 carriers and 4 bytes, whichwill not be particularly defined herein.

It should be appreciated that, the present disclosure shall not belimited to the above schemes, and instead, any other feasible schemesmay also be applicable.

The state transition indication information configured by the networkside device may include an LCID and a first MAC CE of N bits, where N isa positive integer. The first MAC CE may include M SCell sequence bitsC_(i), where M is a positive integer smaller than or equal to N, and iis an integer smaller than or equal to M.

In this embodiment, a value of LCID and the value of C_(i) may be usedto indicate the SCell corresponding to C_(i) to be transited between twoof the activated state, the deactivated state and the third state.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, when the value ofLCID is a first predetermined value, the state of the SCellcorresponding to C_(i) having a second predetermined value may beindicated to be transited into the third state; when the value of LCIDis a third predetermined value, the state of the SCell corresponding toC_(i) having a fourth predetermined value may be indicated to leave thethird state; and when the value of LCID is a fifth predetermined value,the state of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) having a sixthpredetermined value may be indicated to be transited from a currentstate into a next state in the predetermined transition order.

The state transition indication information may further include a secondMAC CE, and the second MAC CE may be used to indicate the SCell to betransited from the third state into the activated state or thedeactivated state.

Correspondingly, the transiting, by the UE, the state of the SCell inaccordance with the state transition indication information may include:when the value of LCID is a first predetermined value, transiting thestate of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) having a second predeterminedvalue into the third state; when the value of LCID is a thirdpredetermined value, enabling the state of the SCell corresponding toC_(i) having a fourth predetermined value to leave the third state; andwhen the value of LCID is a fifth predetermined value, transiting thestate of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) having a sixth predeterminedvalue from the current state into the next state in the predeterminedtransition order.

Further, the UE may transit the state of the SCell from the third stateinto the activated state or the deactivated state in accordance with thesecond MAC CE.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, LCID may be shown in Table1.

TABLE 1 LCID Indication xxxxx/xxxxxx Transiting the SCell into the thirdstate yyyyy/yyyyyy Enabling the SCell to leave the third state

First assumption: when the value of LCID is “xxxxx” or “xxxxxx” and thevalue of C_(i) in the first MAC CE is 1, the corresponding SCell may beindicated to be transited into the third state, and the states of theother SCells may remain unchanged; or when the value of LCID is “yyyyy”or “yyyyyy” and the value of C_(i) in the first MAC CE is 1, thecorresponding SCell may be indicated to leave the third state, and thestates of the other SCells may remain unchanged.

Second assumption: when the value of LCID is “xxxxx” or “xxxxxx” and thevalue of C_(i) in the first MAC CE is 0, the corresponding SCell may beindicated to be transited into the third state, and the states of theother SCells may remain unchanged; or when the value of LCID is “yyyyy”or “yyyyyy” and the value of C_(i) in the first MAC CE is 0, thecorresponding SCell may be indicated to leave the third state, and thestates of the other SCells may remain unchanged.

Third assumption: when the value of LCID is “xxxxx” or “xxxxxx” and thevalue of C_(i) in the first MAC CE is 1, the corresponding SCell may beindicated to be transited into the third state, and the states of theother SCells may remain unchanged; or when the value of LCID is “yyyyy”or “yyyyyy” and the value of C_(i) in the first MAC CE is 0, thecorresponding SCell may be indicated to leave the third state, and thestates of the other SCells may remain unchanged.

Fourth assumption: when the value of LCID is “xxxxx” or “xxxxxx” and thevalue of C_(i) in the first MAC CE is 0, the corresponding SCell may beindicated to be transited into the third state, and the states of theother SCells may remain unchanged; or when the value of LCID is “yyyyy”or “yyyyyy” and the value of C_(i) in the first MAC CE is 1, thecorresponding SCell may be indicated to leave the third state, and thestates of the other SCells may remain unchanged.

In the above assumptions, the network side device may configure a secondMAC CE to indicate whether the corresponding SCell is to leave the thirdstate and be transited from the third state into the activated state orinto the deactivated state. The indication of the activated state andthe deactivated state through the second MAC CE may be implemented inthe related art, which will not be particularly defined herein.

Fifth assumption: when the value of LCID is “xxxxx”, “xxxxxx”, “yyyyy”or “yyyyyy” and the value of C_(i) in the first MAC CE is 1, thecorresponding SCell may be indicated to be transited from a currentstate into a next state in the predetermined transition order.

Sixth assumption: when the value of LCID is “xxxxx”, “xxxxxx”, “yyyyy”or “yyyyyy” and the value of C_(i) in the first MAC CE is 0, thecorresponding SCell may be indicated to be transited from the currentstate into the next state in the predetermined transition order.

The above schemes may be applied to the MAC CE format having 8 carriersand 1 byte, or an MAC CE format having 32 carriers and 4 bytes, whichwill not be particularly defined herein.

It should be appreciated that, the present disclosure shall not belimited to the above schemes, and instead, any other feasible schemesmay also be applicable.

The state transition indication information configured by the networkside device may include an LCID and an MAC CE of N bits, where N is apositive integer. The MAC CE may include M SCell sequence bits C_(i),where M is a positive integer smaller than or equal to N, and i is aninteger smaller than or equal to M.

In this embodiment, a value of LCID and the value of C_(i) may be usedto indicate the state transition of the SCell corresponding to C_(i)between two of the activated state, the deactivated state and the thirdstate.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, when the value ofLCID is a first predetermined value, the state of the SCellcorresponding to C_(i) having a second predetermined value may beindicated to be transited from the third state into the activated state;when the value of LCID is a third predetermined value, the state of theSCell corresponding to C_(i) having a fourth predetermined value may beindicated to be transited from the third state into the deactivatedstate; and when the value of LCID is a fifth predetermined value, thestate of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) having a sixth predeterminedvalue may be indicated to be transited from the third state into a nextstate in the predetermined transition order.

Correspondingly, the transiting, by the UE, the state of the SCell inaccordance with the state transition indication information may include:when the value of LCID is a first predetermined value, transiting, bythe UE, the state of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) having a secondpredetermined value from the third state into the activated state; whenthe value of LCID is a third predetermined value, transiting, by the UE,the state of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) having a fourthpredetermined value from the third state into the deactivated state; andwhen the value of LCID is a fifth predetermined value, transiting, bythe UE, the state of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) having a sixthpredetermined value from the third state into the next state in thepredetermined transition order.

In this embodiment, LCID may also be shown in Table 1.

This embodiment differs from the third embodiment in that, when the LCIDindicates the SCell is to leave the third state, the MAC CE may bemerely valid to the SCell in the third state.

First assumption: when the value of LCTD is “yyyyy” or “yyyyyy” and thevalue of C_(i) in the MAC CE in the third state is 1, the correspondingSCell may be indicated to be transited from the third state into theactivated state; when the value of LCID is “yyyyy” or “yyyyyy” and thevalue of C_(i) in the MAC CE in the third state is 0, the correspondingSCell may be indicated to be transited from the third state into thedeactivated state, and C_(i) corresponding to the SCells not in thethird state may be omitted.

Second assumption: when the value of LCID is “xxxxx”, “xxxxxx”, “yyyyy”or “yyyyyy” and the value of C_(i) in the MAC CE is 1, the correspondingSCell may be indicated to be transited from a current state into a nextstate in the predetermined transition order.

Third assumption: when the value of LCID is “xxxxx”, “xxxxxx”, “yyyyy”or“yyyyyy” and the value of C_(i) in the MAC CE is 0, the correspondingSCell may be indicated to be transited from the current state into thenext state in the predetermined transition order.

The above schemes may be applied to the MAC CE format having 8 carriersand 1 byte, or an MAC CE format having 32 carriers and 4 bytes, whichwill not be particularly defined herein.

It should be appreciated that, the present disclosure shall not belimited to the above schemes, and instead, any other feasible schemesmay also be applicable.

The state transition indication information configured by the networkside device may include an LCID and an MAC CE of N bits, where N is apositive integer. The MAC CE may include M groups of SCell sequence bitsC_(i), and each group of C_(i) may include X bits, where M is a positiveinteger, X is a positive integer greater than 1, and i is an integersmaller than or equal to M.

In this embodiment, a value of LCID and values of the X bits in eachgroup of C_(i) may be used to indicate the state of the SCellcorresponding to C_(i) to be transited into one of the activated state,the deactivated state and the third state.

Correspondingly, the transiting, by the UE, the state of the SCell inaccordance with the state transition indication information may include:when the values of the X bits in C_(i) are used to indicate the state ofthe SCell corresponding to C_(i) to be transited into the third state,transiting, by the UE, the state of the SCell corresponding to C_(i)into the third state; when the values of the X bits in C_(i) are used toindicate the state of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) to be transitedinto the activated state, transiting, by the UE, the state of the SCellcorresponding to C_(i) into the activated state; and when the values ofthe X bits in C_(i) are used to indicate the state of the SCellcorresponding to C_(i) to be transited into the deactivated state,transiting, by the UE, the state of the SCell corresponding to C_(i)into the deactivated state.

In this embodiment, a new LCID (e.g., that in Table 2) may be defined toindicate a corresponding MAC CE (e.g., that in FIG. 10 or 11), so as tocontrol the state of the SCell.

TABLE 2 LCID Indication zzzzz/zzzzzz Activated state, deactivated stateor third state

First assumption is shown in Table 3.

TABLE 3 C_(i) C_(i) State 00 Deactivated state 01 Third state 10Reserved 11 Activated state

Second assumption is shown in Table 4.

TABLE 4 C_(i) C_(i) State 00 Deactivated state 01 Reserved 10 Thirdstate 11 Activated state

The above schemes may be applied to the MAC CE format having 8 carriersand 1 byte, or an MAC CE format having 32 carriers and 4 bytes, whichwill not be particularly defined herein.

It should be appreciated that, the present disclosure shall not belimited to the above schemes, and instead, any other feasible schemesmay also be applicable.

The state transition indication information configured by the networkside device may include an MAC CE and a field L indicating a length ofthe MAC CE. The MAC CE may include a first indication bit stringindicating a sequence of SCells and a second indication bit stringindicating the state of the SCell, where M is a positive integer, and iis an integer smaller than or equal to M. The first indication bitstring may include at least three bits, and the second indication bitstring may include at least two bits.

In this embodiment, a value of the first indication bit string and avalue of the second indication bit string may be used to indicate thestate of the SCell corresponding to the first indication bit string tobe transited into one of the activated state, the deactivated state andthe third state.

Correspondingly, the transiting, by the UE, the state of the SCell inaccordance with the state transition indication information may include:when the value of the second indication bit string is used to indicate astate of an SCell to be transited into the third state, transiting thestate of the SCell corresponding to the value of the first indicationbit string into the third state; when the value of the second indicationbit string is used to indicate a state of an SCell to be transited intothe activated state, transiting the state of the SCell corresponding tothe value of the first indication bit string into the activated state;and when the value of the second indication bit string is used toindicate a state of an SCell to be transited into the deactivated state,transiting the state of the SCell corresponding to the value of thefirst indication bit string into the deactivated state.

In this embodiment, a new LCID (e.g., that in Table 2) may be defined toindicate a corresponding MAC CE, so as to control the state of one ormore SCells. The length of the MAC CE may be indicated by the field L.

FIG. 12 shows the MAC CE format. In FIG. 12, “SCell index” is used torepresent the first indication bit string indicating the SCell sequence,and “SCell state” is used to represent the second indication bit stringindicating the state of the SCell. In the above MAC CE formats,positions of the bit R are merely for illustrative purposes. In apossible embodiment of the present disclosure, “SCell index” may occupythree bits, and “SCell state” may occupy two bits.

The above schemes may be applied to the MAC CE format having 8 carriersand 1 byte, or an MAC CE format having 32 carriers and 4 bytes, whichwill not be particularly defined herein.

It should be appreciated that, the present disclosure shall not belimited to the above schemes, and instead, any other feasible schemesmay also be applicable.

In a word, according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, thestate transition indication information may be configured so as toindicate the SCell state transition between two of the activated state,the deactivated state and the third state, so as to solve the problemsin the related art.

The present disclosure further provides in some embodiments a networkside device 700 which, as shown in FIG. 13, includes: a configurationmodule 701 used to configure state transition indication information,the state transition indication information being used to indicate anSCell state transition between two of an activated state, a deactivatedstate and a third state; and a transmission module 702 used to transmitthe state transition indication information to a UE.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the state transitionindication information may include an MAC CE of N bits, where N is apositive integer. The MAC CE may include M SCell sequence bits C_(i),where M is a positive integer, and i is an integer smaller than or equalto M. A value of C_(i) may be used to indicate the transition state ofthe SCell corresponding to C_(i) between two of the activated state, thedeactivated state and the third state.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the MAC CE mayfurther include a reserved bit R. When a value of R is a firstpredetermined value, the state of the SCell corresponding to C_(i)having a second predetermined value may be indicated to be transitedinto the third state; when the value of R is a third predeterminedvalue, the state of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) having a fourthpredetermined value may be indicated to be transited from the thirdstate into the activated state or the deactivated state; and when thevalue of R is a fifth predetermined value, the state of the SCellcorresponding to C_(i) having a sixth predetermined value may beindicated to be transited from a current state into a next state in apredetermined transition order.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the state transitionindication information may include an MAC CE and a field L indicating alength of the MAC CE. The MAC CE may include at least two fields, andeach field may include N bits, where N is a positive integer. Each fieldof the MAC CE may include M SCell sequence bits C_(i), where M is apositive integer, and i is an integer smaller than or equal to M. Avalue of C_(i) in each field may be used to indicate the transitionstate of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) between two of the activatedstate, the deactivated state and the third state.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, each field in theMAC CE may further include a reserved bit R. When a value of R in eachfield satisfies a first predetermined condition and the value of C_(i)in each field satisfies a second predetermined condition, the state ofthe SCell corresponding to C_(i) may be indicated to be transited intothe third state; when the value of R in each field satisfies a thirdpredetermined condition and the value of C_(i) in each field satisfies afourth predetermined condition, the state of the SCell corresponding toC_(i) may be indicated to be transited from the third state into theactivated state or the deactivated state; and when the value of R ineach field satisfies a fifth predetermined condition and the value ofC_(i) in each field satisfies a sixth predetermined condition, the stateof the SCell corresponding to C_(i) may be indicated to be transitedfrom a current state into a next state in the predetermined transitionorder.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the state transitionindication information may include an LCID and a first MAC CE of N bits,where N is a positive integer. The first MAC CE may include M SCellsequence bits C_(i), where M is a positive integer smaller than or equalto N, and i is an integer smaller than or equal to M. A value of LCIDand a value of C_(i) may be used to indicate the state transition of theSCell corresponding to C_(i) between two of the activated state, thedeactivated state and the third state.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, when the value ofLCID is a first predetermined value, the state of the SCellcorresponding to C_(i) having a second predetermined value may beindicated to be transited into the third state; when the value of LCIDis a third predetermined value, the state of the SCell corresponding toC_(i) having a fourth predetermined value may be indicated to leave thethird state; and when the value of LCID is a fifth predetermined value,the state of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) having a sixthpredetermined value may be indicated to be transited from a currentstate into a next state in the predetermined transition order.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the state transitionindication information may further include a second MAC CE, and thesecond MAC CE may be used to indicate the SCell state transition fromthe third state into the activated state or the deactivated state.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the state transitionindication information may include an LCID and an MAC CE of N bits,where N is a positive integer. The MAC CE may include M SCell sequencebits C_(i), where M is a positive integer smaller than or equal to N,and i is an integer smaller than or equal to M. A value of LCID and avalue of C_(i) may be used to indicate the state transition of the SCellcorresponding to C_(i) between two of the activated state, thedeactivated state and the third state.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, when the value ofLCID is a first predetermined value, the state of the SCellcorresponding to C_(i) having a second predetermined value may beindicated to be transited from the third state into the activated state;when the value of LCID is a third predetermined value, the state of theSCell corresponding to C_(i) having a fourth predetermined value may beindicated to be transited from the third state into the deactivatedstate; and when the value of LCID is a fifth predetermined value, thestate of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) having a sixth predeterminedvalue may be indicated to be transited from the third state into a nextstate in the predetermined transition order.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the state transitionindication information may include an LCID and an MAC CE of N bits,where N is a positive integer. The MAC CE may include M groups of SCellsequence bits C_(i), and each group of C_(i) may include X bits, where Mis a positive integer, X is a positive integer greater than 1, and i isan integer smaller than or equal to M. A value of LCID and values of theX bits in each group of C_(i) may be used to indicate the state of theSCell corresponding to C_(i) to be transited into any one of theactivated state, the deactivated state and the third state.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the state transitionindication information may include an MAC CE and a field L indicating alength of the MAC CE. The MAC CE may include a first indication bitstring indicating a sequence of SCells and a second indication bitstring indicating the state of the SCell, where M is a positive integer,and i is an integer smaller than or equal to M. The first indication bitstring may include at least three bits, and the second indication bitstring may include at least two bits. A value of the first indicationbit string and a value of the second indication bit string may be usedto indicate the state of the SCell corresponding to the first indicationbit string to be transited into one of the activated state, thedeactivated state and the third state.

It should be appreciated that, the network side device 700 in theembodiments of the present disclosure is capable of implementing theabove-mentioned SCell state indication method for the network sidedevice with a same beneficial effect, which will not be particularlydefined herein.

The present disclosure further provides in some embodiments a UE 800which, as shown in FIG. 14, includes: a reception module 801 used toreceive a state transition indication information from a network sidedevice, the state transition indication information being used toindicate an SCell state transition between two of an activated state, adeactivated state and a third state; and a transition module 802 used totransit the state of SCell in accordance with the state transitionindication information.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the state transitionindication information may include an MAC CE of N bits, where N is apositive integer. The MAC CE may include M SCell sequence bits C_(i),where M is a positive integer, and i is an integer smaller than or equalto M. A value of C_(i) may be used to indicate the state transition ofthe SCell corresponding to C_(i) between two of the activated state, thedeactivated state and the third state.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the MAC CE mayfurther include a reserved bit R. The transition module 802 is furtherused to: when a value of R is a first predetermined value, transit thestate of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) having a second predeterminedvalue into the third state; when the value of R is a third predeterminedvalue, transit the state of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) having afourth predetermined value from the third state into the activated stateor the deactivated state; and when the value of R is a fifthpredetermined value, transit the state of the SCell corresponding toC_(i) having a sixth predetermined value from a current state into anext state in a predetermined transition order.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the state transitionindication information may include an MAC CE and a field L indicating alength of the MAC CE. The MAC CE may include at least two fields, andeach field may include N bits, where N is a positive integer. Each fieldof the MAC CE may include M SCell sequence bits C_(i), where M is apositive integer, and i is an integer smaller than or equal to M. Avalue of C_(i) in each field may be used to indicate the statetransition of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) between two of theactivated state, the deactivated state and the third state.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, each field in theMAC CE may further include a reserved bit R. The transition module 802is further used to: when a value of R in each field satisfies a firstpredetermined condition and the value of C_(i) in each field satisfies asecond predetermined condition, transit the state of the SCellcorresponding to C_(i) into the third state; when the value of R in eachfield satisfies a third predetermined condition and the value of C_(i)in each field satisfies a fourth predetermined condition, transit thestate of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) from the third state into theactivated state or the deactivated state; and when the value of R ineach field satisfies a fifth predetermined condition and the value ofC_(i) in each field satisfies a sixth predetermined condition, transitthe state of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) from a current state intoa next state in the predetermined transition order.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the state transitionindication information may include an LCID and a first MAC CE of N bits,where N is a positive integer. The first MAC CE may include M SCellsequence bits C_(i), where M is a positive integer, and i is an integersmaller than or equal to M. A value of LCID and a value of C_(i) may beused to indicate the state transition of the SCell corresponding toC_(i) between two of the activated state, the deactivated state and thethird state.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the transitionmodule 802 is further used to: when the value of the LCID is a firstpredetermined value, transit the state of the SCell corresponding toC_(i) having a second predetermined value into the third state; when thevalue of LCID is a third predetermined value, enable the state of theSCell corresponding to C_(i) having a fourth predetermined value toleave the third state; and when the value of LCID is a fifthpredetermined value, transit the state of the SCell corresponding toC_(i) having a sixth predetermined value from a current state into anext state in the predetermined transition order.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the state transitionindication information may further include a second MAC CE, and thesecond MAC CE may be used to indicate the SCell state transition fromthe third state into the activated state or the deactivated state.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the state transitionindication information may include an LCID and an MAC CE of N bits,where N is a positive integer. The MAC CE may include M SCell sequencebits C_(i), where M is a positive integer smaller than or equal to N,and i is an integer smaller than or equal to M. A value of the LCID anda value of C_(i) may be used to indicate the state transition of theSCell corresponding to C_(i) between two of the activated state, thedeactivated state and the third state.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the transitionmodule 802 is further used to: when the value of LCID is a firstpredetermined value, transit the state of the SCell corresponding toC_(i) having a second predetermined value from the third state into theactivated state; when the value of LCID is a third predetermined value,transit the state of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) having a fourthpredetermined value from the third state into the deactivated state; andwhen the value of LCID is a fifth predetermined value, transit the stateof the SCell corresponding to C_(i) having a sixth predetermined valuefrom the third state into a next state in the predetermined transitionorder.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the state transitionindication information may include an LCID and an MAC CE of N bits,where N is a positive integer. The MAC CE may include M groups of SCellsequence bits C_(i), and each group of C_(i) may include X bits, where Mis a positive integer, X is a positive integer greater than 1, and i isan integer smaller than or equal to M. A value of LCID and a value ofthe X bits in each group of C_(i) may be used to indicate the state ofthe SCell corresponding to C_(i) to be transited into one of theactivated state, the deactivated state and the third state.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the transitionmodule 802 is further used to: when the value of the X bits in C_(i) isused to indicate the state of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) to betransited into the third state, transit the state of the SCellcorresponding to C_(i) into the third state; when the value of the Xbits in C_(i) is used to indicate the state of the SCell correspondingto C_(i) to be transited into the activated state, transit the state ofthe SCell corresponding to C_(i) into the activated state; and when thevalue of the X bits in C_(i) is used to indicate the state of the SCellcorresponding to C_(i) to be transited into the deactivated state,transit the state of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) into thedeactivated state.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the state transitionindication information may include an MAC CE and a field L indicating alength of the MAC CE. The MAC CE may include a first indication bitstring indicating a sequence of SCells and a second indication bitstring indicating the state of the SCell, where M is a positive integer,and i is an integer smaller than or equal to M. The first indication bitstring may include at least three bits, and the second indication bitstring may include at least two bits. A value of the first indicationbit string and a value of the second indication bit string may be usedto indicate the state of the SCell corresponding to the first indicationbit string to be transited into one of the activated state, thedeactivated state and the third state.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the transitionmodule 802 is further used to: when the value of the second indicationbit string is used to indicate a state of an SCell to be transited intothe third state, transit the state of the SCell corresponding to thevalue of the first indication bit string into the third state; when thevalue of the second indication bit string is used to indicate a state ofan SCell to be transited into the activated state, transit the state ofthe SCell corresponding to the value of the first indication bit stringinto the activated state; and when the value of the second indicationbit string is used to indicate a state of an SCell to be transited intothe deactivated state, transit the state of the SCell corresponding tothe value of the first indication bit string into the deactivated state.

It should be appreciated that, the UE 800 in the embodiments of thepresent disclosure is capable of implementing the above-mentioned SCellstate indication method for the UE with a same beneficial effect, whichwill not be particularly defined herein.

The present disclosure further provides in some embodiments a networkside device 900 which, as shown in FIG. 15, includes a processor 901, atransceiver 902, a memory 903 and a bus interface 904. The processor 901is used to read a program stored in the memory 903, so as to configurestate transition indication information, and the state transitionindication information may be used to indicate an SCell state transitionbetween two of an activated state, a deactivated state and a thirdstate. The transceiver 902 is used to transmit the state transitionindication information to a UE.

In FIG. 15, bus architecture may include a number of buses and bridgesconnected to each other, so as to connect various circuits for one ormore processors such as the processor 901 and one or more memories suchas the memory 903. In addition, as is known in the art, the busarchitecture may be used to connect any other circuits, such as acircuit for a peripheral device, a circuit for a voltage stabilizer anda power management circuit, which are not particularly defined herein.The bus interface may be provided, and the transceiver 902 may consistof a plurality of elements, i.e., a transmitter and a receiver forcommunication with any other devices over a transmission medium. Withrespect to different UEs, a user interface 904 may also be provided forconnecting devices which are to be arranged inside or outside the UE,and these devices may include but not limited to a keypad, a display, aspeaker, a microphone and a joystick. The processor 901 may take chargeof managing the bus architecture as well as general processings. Thememory 903 may store therein data for the operation of the processor901.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the state transitionindication information may include an MAC CE of N bits, where N is apositive integer. The MAC CE may include M SCell sequence bits C_(i),where M is a positive integer, and i is an integer smaller than or equalto M. A value of C_(i) may be used to indicate the state transition ofthe SCell corresponding to C_(i) between two of the activated state, thedeactivated state and the third state.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the MAC CE mayfurther include a reserved bit R. When a value of R is a firstpredetermined value, the state of the SCell corresponding to C_(i)having a second predetermined value may be indicated to be transitedinto the third state; when the value of R is a third predeterminedvalue, the state of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) having a fourthpredetermined value may be indicated to be transited from the thirdstate into the activated state or the deactivated state; and when thevalue of R is a fifth predetermined value, the state of the SCellcorresponding to C_(i) having a sixth predetermined value may beindicated to be transited from a current state into a next state in apredetermined transition order.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the state transitionindication information may include an MAC CE and a field L indicating alength of the MAC CE. The MAC CE may include at least two fields, andeach field may include N bits, where N is a positive integer. Each fieldof the MAC CE may include M SCell sequence bits C_(i), where M is apositive integer, and i is an integer smaller than or equal to M. Avalue of C_(i) in each field may be used to indicate the statetransition of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) between two of theactivated state, the deactivated state and the third state.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, each field in theMAC CE may further include a reserved bit R. When a value of R in eachfield satisfies a first predetermined condition and the value of C_(i)in each field satisfies a second predetermined condition, the state ofthe SCell corresponding to C_(i) may be indicated to be transited intothe third state; when the value of R in each field satisfies a thirdpredetermined condition and the value of C_(i) in each field satisfies afourth predetermined condition, the state of the SCell corresponding toC_(i) may be indicated to be transited from the third state into theactivated state or the deactivated state; and when the value of R ineach field satisfies a fifth predetermined condition and the value ofC_(i) in each field satisfies a sixth predetermined condition, the stateof the SCell corresponding to C_(i) may be indicated to be transitedfrom a current state into a next state in the predetermined transitionorder.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the state transitionindication information may include an LCID and a first MAC CE of N bits,where N is a positive integer. The first MAC CE may include M SCellsequence bits C_(i), where M is a positive integer smaller than or equalto N, and i is an integer smaller than or equal to M. A value of LCIDand a value of C_(i) may be used to indicate the state transition of theSCell corresponding to C_(i) between two of the activated state, thedeactivated state and the third state.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, when the value ofLCID is a first predetermined value, the state of the SCellcorresponding to C_(i) having a second predetermined value may beindicated to be transited into the third state; when the value of LCIDis a third predetermined value, the state of the SCell corresponding toC_(i) having a fourth predetermined value may be indicated to leave thethird state; and when the value of LCID is a fifth predetermined value,the state of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) having a sixthpredetermined value may be indicated to be transited from a currentstate into a next state in the predetermined transition order.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the state transitionindication information may further include a second MAC CE, and thesecond MAC CE may be used to indicate the SCell state transition fromthe third state into the activated state or the deactivated state.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the state transitionindication information may include an LCID and an MAC CE of N bits,where N is a positive integer. The MAC CE may include M SCell sequencebits C_(i), where M is a positive integer smaller than or equal to N,and i is an integer smaller than or equal to M. A value of LCID and avalue of C_(i) may be used to indicate the state transition of the SCellcorresponding to C_(i) between two of the activated state, thedeactivated state and the third state.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, when the value ofLCID is a first predetermined value, the state of the SCellcorresponding to C_(i) having a second predetermined value may beindicated to be transited from the third state into the activated state;when the value of LCID is a third predetermined value, the state of theSCell corresponding to C_(i) having a fourth predetermined value may beindicated to be transited from the third state into the deactivatedstate; and when the value of LCID is a fifth predetermined value, thestate of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) having a sixth predeterminedvalue may be indicated to be transited from the third state into a nextstate in the predetermined transition order.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the state transitionindication information may include an LCID and an MAC CE of N bits,where N is a positive integer. The MAC CE may include M groups of SCellsequence bits C_(i), and each group of C_(i) may include X bits, where Mis a positive integer, X is a positive integer greater than 1, and i isan integer smaller than or equal to M. A value of LCID and a value ofthe X bits in each group of C_(i) may be used to indicate the state ofthe SCell corresponding to C_(i) to be transited into any one of theactivated state, the deactivated state and the third state.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the state transitionindication information may include an MAC CE and a field L indicating alength of the MAC CE. The MAC CE may include a first indication bitstring indicating a sequence of SCells and a second indication bitstring indicating the state of the SCell, where M is a positive integer,and i is an integer smaller than or equal to M. The first indication bitstring may include at least three bits, and the second indication bitstring may include at least two bits. A value of the first indicationbit string and a value of the second indication bit string may be usedto indicate the state of the SCell corresponding to the first indicationbit string to be transited into one of the activated state, thedeactivated state and the third state.

It should be appreciated that, the network side device 900 in theembodiments of the present disclosure is capable of implementing theabove-mentioned SCell state indication method for the network sidedevice with a same beneficial effect, which will not be particularlydefined herein.

The present disclosure further provides in some embodiments a UE 1000which, as shown in FIG. 16, includes, but not limited to, an RadioFrequency (RF) unit 1001, a network module 1002, an audio output unit1003, an input unit 1004, a sensor 1005, a, display unit 1006, a userinput unit 1007, an interface unit 1008, a memory 1009, a processor1010, and a power source 1011. It should be appreciated that, thestructure in FIG. 10 shall not be construed as limiting the UE. The UEmay include more or fewer members, or some members may be combined, orthe UE may include some other members not shown in FIG. 10. In theembodiments of the present disclosure, the UE may include, but notlimited to, mobile phone, flat-panel computer, notebook computer, palmcomputer, vehicle-mounted UE, wearable device or pedometer.

The RF unit 1001 is used to receive a state transition indicationinformation from a network side device, and the state transitionindication information may be used to indicate an SCell state transitionbetween two of an activated state, a deactivated state and a thirdstate. The processor 1010 is used to transit the state of SCell inaccordance with the state transition indication information.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the state transitionindication information may include an MAC CE of N bits, where N is apositive integer. The MAC CE may include M SCell sequence bits C_(i),where M is a positive integer, and i is an integer smaller than or equalto M. A value of C_(i) may be used to indicate the state transition ofthe SCell corresponding to C_(i) between two of the activated state, thedeactivated state and the third state.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the MAC CE mayfurther include a reserved bit R. The processor 1010 is further used to:when a value of R is a first predetermined value, transit the state ofthe SCell corresponding to C_(i) having a second predetermined valueinto the third state; when the value of R is a third predeterminedvalue, transit the state of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) having afourth predetermined value from the third state into the activated stateor the deactivated state; and when the value of R is a fifthpredetermined value, transit the state of the SCell corresponding toC_(i) having a sixth predetermined value from a current state into anext state in a predetermined transition order.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the state transitionindication information may include an MAC CE and a field L indicating alength of the MAC CE. The MAC CE may include at least two fields, andeach field may include N bits, where N is a positive integer. Each fieldof the MAC CE may include M SCell sequence bits C_(i), where M is apositive integer, and i is an integer smaller than or equal to M. Avalue of C_(i) in each field may be used to indicate the statetransition of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) between two of theactivated state, the deactivated state and the third state.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, each field in theMAC CE may further include a reserved bit R. When transiting the stateof the SCell in accordance with the state transition indicationinformation, the processor 1010 is further used to: when a value of R ineach field satisfies a first predetermined condition and the value ofC_(i) in each field satisfies a second predetermined condition, transitthe state of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) into the third state; whenthe value of R in each field satisfies a third predetermined conditionand the value of C_(i) in each field satisfies a fourth predeterminedcondition, transit the state of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) fromthe third state into the activated state or the deactivated state; andwhen the value of R in each field satisfies a fifth predeterminedcondition and the value of C_(i) in each field satisfies a sixthpredetermined condition, transit the state of the SCell corresponding toC_(i) from a current state into a next state in the predeterminedtransition order.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the state transitionindication information may include an LCID and a first MAC CE of N bits,where N is a positive integer. The first MAC CE may include M SCellsequence bits C_(i), where M is a positive integer, and i is an integersmaller than or equal to M. A value of LCID and a value of C_(i) may beused to indicate the state transition of the SCell corresponding toC_(i) between two of the activated state, the deactivated state and thethird state.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, when transiting thestate of the SCell in accordance with the state transition indicationinformation, the processor 1010 is further used to: when the value ofLCID is a first predetermined value, transit the state of the SCellcorresponding to C_(i) having a second predetermined value into thethird state; when the value of LCID is a third predetermined value,enable the state of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) having a fourthpredetermined value to leave the third state; and when the value of LCIDis a fifth predetermined value, transit the state of the SCellcorresponding to C_(i) having a sixth predetermined value from a currentstate into a next state in the predetermined transition order.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the state transitionindication information may further include a second MAC CE, and thesecond MAC CE may be used to indicate the SCell state transition fromthe third state into the activated state or the deactivated state.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the state transitionindication information may include an LCID and an MAC CE of N bits,where N is a positive integer. The MAC CE may include M SCell sequencebits C_(i), where M is a positive integer smaller than or equal to N,and i is an integer smaller than or equal to M. A value of LCID and avalue of C_(i) may be used to indicate the state transition of the SCellcorresponding to C_(i) between two of the activated state, thedeactivated state and the third state.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, when transiting thestate of the SCell in accordance with the state transition indicationinformation, the processor 1010 is further used to: when the value ofLCID is a first predetermined value, transit the state of the SCellcorresponding to C_(i) having a second predetermined value from thethird state into the activated state; when the value of LCID is a thirdpredetermined value, transit the state of the SCell corresponding toC_(i) having a fourth predetermined value from the third state into thedeactivated state; and when the value of LCID is a fifth predeterminedvalue, transit the state of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) having asixth predetermined value from the third state into a next state in thepredetermined transition order.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the state transitionindication information may include an LCID and an MAC CE of N bits,where N is a positive integer. The MAC CE may include M groups of SCellsequence bits C_(i), and each group of C_(i) may include X bits, where Mis a positive integer, X is a positive integer greater than 1, and i isan integer smaller than or equal to M. A value of LCID and a value ofthe X bits in each group of C_(i) may be used to indicate the state ofthe SCell corresponding to C_(i) to be transited into one of theactivated state, the deactivated state and the third state.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, when transiting thestate of the SCell in accordance with the state transition indicationinformation, the processor 1010 is further used to: when the value ofthe X bits in C_(i) is used to indicate the state of the SCellcorresponding to C_(i) to be transited into the third state, transit thestate of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) into the third state; when thevalue of the X bits in C_(i) is used to indicate the state of the SCellcorresponding to C_(i) to be transited into the activated state, transitthe state of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) into the activated state;and when the value of the X bits in C_(i) is used to indicate the stateof the SCell corresponding to C_(i) to be transited into the deactivatedstate, transit the state of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) into thedeactivated state.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the state transitionindication information may include an MAC CE and a field L indicating alength of the MAC CE. The MAC CE may include a first indication bitstring indicating a sequence of SCells and a second indication bitstring indicating the state of the SCell, where M is a positive integer,and i is an integer smaller than or equal to M. The first indication bitstring may include at least three bits, and the second indication bitstring may include at least two bits. A value of the first indicationbit string and a value of the second indication bit string may be usedto indicate the state of the SCell corresponding to the first indicationbit string to be transited into one of the activated state, thedeactivated state and the third state.

In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, when transiting thestate of the SCell in accordance with the state transition indicationinformation, the processor 1010 is further used to: when the value ofthe second indication bit string is used to indicate a state of an SCellto be transited into the third state, transit the state of the SCellcorresponding to the value of the first indication bit string into thethird state; when the value of the second indication bit string is usedto indicate a state of an SCell to be transited into the activatedstate, transit the state of the SCell corresponding to the value of thefirst indication bit string into the activated state; and when the valueof the second indication bit string is used to indicate a state of anSCell to be transited into the deactivated state, transit the state ofthe SCell corresponding to the value of the first indication bit stringinto the deactivated state.

According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the statetransition indication information may be configured and used to indicatethe SCell state transition between two of the activated state, thedeactivated state and the third state. As a result, after theintroduction of the third state, it is able to reduce a delay generatedwhen the SCell is transited between the activated state and thedeactivated state, and improve the capability of the communicationsystem.

It should be appreciated that, in the embodiments of the presentdisclosure, the RF unit 1001 is used to transmit and receive signalsduring the information transmission or phone call. To be specific, theRF unit 1001 may, upon the receipt of downlink data from the networkdevice, transmit the downlink data to the processor 1010 for subsequenttreatment. In addition, the RF unit 1001 may transmit uplink data to thenetwork device. Usually, the RF unit 1001 may include, but not limitedto, an antenna, at least one amplifier, a transceiver, a coupler, alow-noise amplifier and a duplexer. In addition, the RF unit 1001 maycommunicate with a network and the other devices via a wirelesscommunication system.

The network module 1002 of the UE is used to enable the UE to access thebroadband Internet in a wireless manner, e.g., help a user to receiveand send an e-mail, browse a web page or access a streaming media.

The audio output unit 1003 is used to transit audio data received by theRF unit 1001 or the network module 1002, or audio data stored in thememory 1009, into an audio signal and output the audio signal as asound. In addition, the audio output unit 1003 is further used toprovide an audio output related to a specific function executed by theUE 1000 (e.g., a sound occurring when a calling signal or a message hasbeen received). The audio output unit 1003 may include, e.g., aloudspeaker, a buzzer and a receiver.

The input unit 1004 is used to receive an audio or video signal. It mayinclude a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) 10041 and a microphone 10042.The GPU 10041 is used to process image data of a static image or videoacquired by an image collection unit (e.g., a camera) in a videocapturing mode or an image capturing mode, and a processed image framemay be displayed by the display unit 106. The image frame processed bythe GPU 10041 may be stored in the memory 1009 (or another storagemedium) or transmitted via the RF unit 1001 or network module 1002. Themicrophone 1042 is used to receive a sound, and transit the sound intovoice data. In a call mode, the processed audio data may be transitedinto data in a format capable of being transmitted by the RF unit 1001to a mobile communication base station.

The at least one sensor 1005 included in the UE 1000 may include a lightsensor, a movement sensor and the other sensors. To be specific, thelight sensor may include an ambient light sensor or a proximity sensor.The ambient light sensor is used to adjust a brightness value of adisplay panel 10061 in accordance with ambient light. The proximitysensor is used to turn off the display panel 10061 and/or a backlightsource when the UE 1000 moves close to an ear. As one of the movementsensors, an accelerometer may detect acceleration in various directions(usually a three-axis accelerometer), and detect a level and a directionof a gravity force in a static state. Through the accelerometer, it isable to identify a posture of the UE (e.g., perform a switchingoperation between portrait and landscape orientations, play relevantgames, and calibrate a posture of a magnetometer), and performvibration-related functions (e.g., count steps and strikes). The sensor1005 may further include a fingerprint sensor, a pressure sensor, aniris sensor, a molecule sensor, a gyroscope, a barometer, a hygrometer,a thermometer or an infrared sensor, which will not be particularlydefined herein.

The display unit 1006 is used to display information inputted by theuser or provided to the user. The display unit 1006 may include thedisplay panel 10061, e.g., a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) panel, or anOrganic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) panel.

The user input unit 1007 is used to receive digital or characterinformation inputted by the user, and generate a key signal inputrelated to user settings and function control of the UE. To be specific,the user input unit 1007 may include a touch panel 10071 and anotherinput device 10072. The touch panel 10071, also called as touch screen,is used to collect a touch operation made by the user on or in proximityto the touch panel (e.g., an operation made by the user through anyappropriate object or attachment (e.g., finger or stylus) on or in theproximity to the touch panel 10071). The touch panel 10071 may include atouch detection device and a touch controller. The touch detectiondevice is used to detect a touch position and a signal generated due tothe touch operation, and transmit the signal to the touch controller.The touch controller is used to receive touch information from the touchdetection device, transit it into coordinates of a touch point, transmitthe coordinates to the processor 1010, and receive and execute a commandfrom the processor 1010. In addition, the touch panel 10071 may be of aresistive type, a capacitive type, an infrared type or a surfaceacoustic wave (SAW) type. In addition to the touch panel 10071, the userinput unit 1007 may further other input device 10072 including, but notlimited to, a physical keyboard, a functional button (e.g., a volumecontrol button or an on/off button), a trackball, a mouse, and ajoystick, which will not be particularly defined herein.

Further, the touch panel 10071 may cover the display panel 10061. Whenthe touch operation made on or in proximity to the touch panel 10071 hasbeen detected by the touch panel 10071, the touch panel 10071 maytransmit the touch information to the processor 1010, so as to determinea type of a touch event. Then, the processor 1010 may control thedisplay panel 10061 to provide a corresponding visual output inaccordance with the type of the touch event. Although the touch panel10071 and the display panel 10061 are configured as two separate membersto achieve the input and the output functions of the UE in FIG. 16, insome embodiments of the present disclosure, they may be integrated so asto achieve the input and output functions of the electronic device,which will not be particularly defined herein.

The interface unit 1008 is used to provide an interface between anexternal device and the UE 1000. For example, the external device mayinclude a wired or wireless headset port, an external power source port(or a battery charger port), a wired or wireless data port, a memorycard port, a port for connecting a device having an identificationmodule, an audio Input/Output (I/O) port, a video I/O port, and anearphone port. The interface unit 1008 is used to receive an input fromthe external device (e.g., data information and electricity) andtransmit the received input to one or more elements of the UE 1000, ortransmit data between the UE 1000 and the external device.

The memory 1009 is used to store therein a software application andvarious data. It may mainly include an application storage area and adata storage area. An operating system and at least one application forthe functions (e.g., an audio/image playing function) may be stored inthe application storage area. Data created in accordance with theoperation of the mobile phone (e.g., audio data and textbook) may bestored in the data storage area. In addition, the memory 1009 mayinclude a high-speed Random Access Memory (RAM), or a non-volatilememory (e.g., at least one magnetic disk or flash memory), or any othervolatile solid state memory.

As a control center of the electronic device, the processor 1010 may beconnected to the various members of the UE via various interfaces andcircuits, and used to run or execute the software program and/or modulestored in the memory 1009, and call the data stored in the memory 1009,so as to execute the functions of the UE and process the data, therebyto monitor the entire UE. The processor 1010 may include one or moreprocessing units. In a possible embodiment of the present disclosure, anapplication processor and a modem may be integrated into the processor1010. The application processor is mainly used to process the operatingsystem, a user interface, the application, and the like. The modem ismainly used to process wireless communication. It should be appreciatedthat, the modem may also not be integrated into the processor 1010.

The power source 1011 (e.g., a battery) is used to supply power to themembers of the UE 1000. In a possible embodiment of the presentdisclosure, the power source 1011 is logically connected to theprocessor 1010 via a power source management system, so as to achievesuch functions as charging, discharging and power consumption managementthrough the power source management system.

In addition, the UE 1000 may include some functional modules not shownin FIG. 16, which will not be particularly defined herein.

The present disclosure further provides in some embodiments a UE, whichincludes a processor 1010, a memory 1009, and a computer program storedin the memory 1009 and executed by the processor 1010. The processor1010 is used to execute the computer program so as to implement theabove-mentioned SCell state indication method with a same technicaleffect, which will not be particularly defined herein.

The present disclosure further provides in some embodiments acomputer-readable storage medium storing therein a computer program. Thecomputer program is executed by a processor, so as to implement theabove-mentioned SCell state indication method with a same technicaleffect, which will not be particularly defined herein. Thecomputer-readable storage medium may be, e.g., a Read-Only Memory (ROM),a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

It should be appreciated that, such words as “include” or “including” orany other variations involved in the present disclosure intend toprovide non-exclusive coverage, so that a procedure, method, article ordevice including a series of elements may also include other elementsnot listed herein, or may include inherent elements of the procedure,method, article or device. If without any further limitations, for theelements defined by such sentence as “including one . . . ”, it is notexcluded that the procedure, method, article or device including theelements may also include other identical elements.

Through the above-mentioned description, it may be apparent for a personskilled in the art that the methods of the embodiments may beimplemented by software as well as a necessary common hardware platform,or by hardware, and the former may be better in most cases. Based onthis, the technical solutions of the present disclosure, essentially, orparts of the technical solutions of the present disclosure contributingto the related art, may appear in the form of software products, whichmay be stored in a storage medium (e.g., ROM/RAM, magnetic disk oroptical disk) and include several instructions so as to enable aterminal device (e.g., mobile phone, computer, server, air conditioneror network device) to execute the method in the embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

The above embodiments are for illustrative purposes only, but thepresent disclosure is not limited thereto. A person skilled in the artmay make further modifications and improvements without departing fromthe principle of the present disclosure, and these modifications andimprovements shall also fall within the scope of the present disclosure.Therefore, a protection scope of the present disclosure shall be definedby claims.

1. A Secondary Cell (SCell) state indication method for a network sidedevice, comprising: configuring state transition indication information,the state transition indication information being used to indicate anSCell state transition between two of an activated state, a deactivatedstate and a third state; and transmitting the state transitionindication information to a User Equipment (UE). 2.-7. (canceled)
 8. TheSCell state indication method according to claim 1, wherein the statetransition indication information comprises a Logical Channel Identity(LCID) and a first MAC CE of N bits, where N is a positive integer; thefirst MAC CE comprises M SCell sequence bits C_(i), where M is apositive integer smaller than or equal to N, and i is an integer smallerthan or equal to M; a value of the LCID and a value of C_(i) are used toindicate the state transition of the SCell corresponding to C_(i)between two of the activated state, the deactivated state and the thirdstate.
 9. The SCell state indication method according to claim 8,wherein when the value of the LCID is a first predetermined value, thestate of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) having a second predeterminedvalue is indicated to be transited into the third state; when the valueof the LCID is a third predetermined value, the state of the SCellcorresponding to C_(i) having a fourth predetermined value is indicatedto leave the third state.
 10. (canceled)
 11. The SCell state indicationmethod according to claim 9, wherein the state transition indicationinformation further comprises a second MAC CE; the second MAC CE is usedto indicate the SCell state transition from the third state into theactivated state or the deactivated state. 12.-16. (canceled)
 17. ASecondary Cell (SCell) state indication method for a User Equipment(UE), comprising: receiving a state transition indication informationtransmitted by a network side device, the state transition indicationinformation being used to indicate an SCell state transition between twoof an activated state, a deactivated state and a third state; andtransiting the state of the SCell in accordance with the statetransition indication information.
 18. The SCell state indication methodaccording to claim 17, wherein the state transition indicationinformation comprises a Media Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE)of N bits, where N is a positive integer; the MAC CE comprises M SCellsequence bits C_(i), where M is a positive integer, and i is an integersmaller than or equal to M; a value of C_(i) is used to indicate thestate transition of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) between two of theactivated state, the deactivated state and the third state.
 19. TheSCell state indication method according to claim 18, wherein the MAC CEfurther comprises a reserved bit R; the transiting the state of theSCell in accordance with the state transition indication informationcomprises: when a value of R is a first predetermined value, transitingthe state of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) having a secondpredetermined value into the third state; when the value of R is a thirdpredetermined value, transiting the state of the SCell corresponding toC_(i) having a fourth predetermined value from the third state into theactivated state or the deactivated state.
 20. The SCell state indicationmethod according to claim 18, wherein the MAC CE further comprises areserved bit R; the transiting the state of the SCell in accordance withthe state transition indication information comprises: when the value ofR is a fifth predetermined value, transiting the state of the SCellcorresponding to C_(i) having a sixth predetermined value from a currentstate into a next state in a predetermined transition order.
 21. TheSCell state indication method according to claim 17, wherein the statetransition indication information comprises an MAC CE and a field Lindicating a length of the MAC CE; the MAC CE comprises at least twofields, and each field comprises N bits, where N is a positive integer;wherein each field of the MAC CE comprises M SCell sequence bits C_(i),where M is a positive integer, and i is an integer smaller than or equalto M; a value of C_(i) in each field is used to indicate the statetransition of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) between two of theactivated state, the deactivated state and the third state.
 22. TheSCell state indication method according to claim 21, wherein each fieldin the MAC CE further comprises a reserved bit R; the transiting thestate of the SCell in accordance with the state transition indicationinformation comprises: when a value of R in each field satisfies a firstpredetermined condition and the value of C_(i) in each field satisfies asecond predetermined condition, transiting the state of the SCellcorresponding to C_(i) into the third state; when the value of R in eachfield satisfies a third predetermined condition and the value of C_(i)in each field satisfies a fourth predetermined condition, transiting thestate of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) from the third state into theactivated state or the deactivated state.
 23. (canceled)
 24. The SCellstate indication method according to claim 17, wherein the statetransition indication information comprises a Logical Channel Identity(LCID) and a first MAC CE of N bits, where N is a positive integer; thefirst MAC CE comprises M SCell sequence bits C_(i), where M is apositive integer, and i is an integer smaller than or equal to M; avalue of the LCID and a value of C_(i) are used to indicate the statetransition of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) between two of theactivated state, the deactivated state and the third state.
 25. TheSCell state indication method according to claim 24, wherein thetransiting the state of the SCell in accordance with the statetransition indication information comprises: when the value of the LCIDis a first predetermined value, transiting the state of the SCellcorresponding to C_(i) having a second predetermined value into thethird state; when the value of the LCID is a third predetermined value,enabling the state of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) having a fourthpredetermined value to leave the third state.
 26. The SCell stateindication method according to claim 24, wherein the transiting thestate of the SCell in accordance with the state transition indicationinformation comprises: when the value of the LCID is a fifthpredetermined value, transiting the state of the SCell corresponding toC_(i) having a sixth predetermined value from a current state into anext state in a predetermined transition order.
 27. The SCell stateindication method according to claim 25, wherein the state transitionindication information further comprises a second MAC CE; the second MACCE is used to indicate the SCell state transition from the third stateinto the activated state or the deactivated state.
 28. The SCell stateindication method according to claim 17, wherein the state transitionindication information comprises an LCID and an MAC CE of N bits, whereN is a positive integer; the MAC CE comprises M SCell sequence bitsC_(i), where M is a positive integer smaller than or equal to N, and iis an integer smaller than or equal to M; a value of the LCID and avalue of C_(i) are used to indicate the state transition of the SCellcorresponding to C_(i) between two of the activated state, thedeactivated state and the third state.
 29. The SCell state indicationmethod according to claim 28, wherein the transiting the state of theSCell in accordance with the state transition indication informationcomprises: when the value of the LCID is a first predetermined value,transiting the state of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) having a secondpredetermined value from the third state into the activated state; whenthe value of the LCID is a third predetermined value, transiting thestate of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) having a fourth predeterminedvalue from the third state into the deactivated state.
 30. (canceled)31. The SCell state indication method according to claim 17, wherein thestate transition indication information comprises an LCID and an MAC CEof N bits, where N is a positive integer; the MAC CE comprises a fieldof M groups of SCell sequence bits C_(i), and a field of each group ofC_(i) comprises X bits, where M is a positive integer, X is a positiveinteger greater than 1, and i is an integer smaller than or equal to M;a value of the LCID and a value of the X bits in the field of each groupof C_(i) are used to indicate the state of the SCell corresponding toC_(i) to be transited into one of the activated state, the deactivatedstate and the third state.
 32. The SCell state indication methodaccording to claim 31, wherein the transiting the state of the SCell inaccordance with the state transition indication information comprises:when the value of the X bits in C_(i) is used to indicate the state ofthe SCell corresponding to C_(i) to be transited into the third state,transiting the state of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) into the thirdstate; when the value of the X bits in C_(i) is used to indicate thestate of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) to be transited into theactivated state, transiting the state of the SCell corresponding toC_(i) into the activated state; when the value of the X bits in C_(i) isused to indicate the state of the SCell corresponding to C_(i) to betransited into the deactivated state, transiting the state of the SCellcorresponding to C_(i) into the deactivated state. 33.-52. (canceled)53. A network side device, comprising a memory, a processor, and acomputer program stored in the memory and capable of being executed bythe processor, wherein the processor is used to execute the computerprogram to: configure state transition indication information, whereinthe state transition indication information is used to indicate an SCellstate transition between two of an activated state, a deactivated stateand a third state; and transmit the state transition indicationinformation to a User Equipment (UE).
 54. A User Equipment (UE),comprising a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in thememory and capable of being executed by the processor, wherein theprocessor is used to execute the computer program, to implement theSCell state indication method according to claim
 17. 55. (canceled)